Blood Dance
by ShadeDancer
Summary: Sequel to Blood's Sacrifice. Harry and Blaise are back for another year, but this time things are going to be vastly different with Manuel incapacitated. Rated just to be safe.
1. Summers Wane

Yes, I know, a miracle. I told you I wasnt planning on abandoning this series. Enjoy the update. And please excuse any errors, when I uploaded this I lost a lot of my quotations and such.

_ShadeDancer_

Disclaimer: _I dont own Harry Potter or any such related things so sit back, enjoy the story, and dont sue me. Im still trying to find another penny to rub together with the single one that I currently possess in my name (in other words you wouldnt get a dime). Lol._

_Chapter 1:_ Summers Wane

It had been an extremely long summer, but somehow Harry had managed to hold up through it. Harry would be the first to admit that it had been a difficult time, not only for himself but for the others as well. For the first few days after he had tried to run off half-cocked and been restrained, Harry had done nothing but sit at Manuels side unless pulled forcefully away. It had taken Trevor yelling at him, the older mans emotions getting the better of him to pull him from his depression.

"Dont you think this hurts us too?" Trevor had screamed at him. "Manuel's my best friend--a brother to me--we've been inseparable since..."

He trailed off, losing steam. "Dammit, we need you Harry. Need you to lead. You're your father's son, the men will look to you for that alone, and you already have their trust. They believe you can step up and lead or many would have already left."

It had worked and together Harry and Trevor had begun to pull the fraying clan back together, withdrawing and talking up a defensive position so that Harry could assume his duties without outside interference. They had doubled security and locked down the entire Darkov complex, Manuel was nearly impossible to get to unless you were Harry, Trevor, Blaise, Sensei, or their resident doctor Salvatore.

They had even gone so far as to tighten security around their legitimate businesses in case an enemy targeted those in an attempt to draw the Darkov Clan out. Since then Trevor had gradually been letting Harry do more of the decision making and work on his own and Harry had started looking to Trevor for the answers less and less except for out of courtesy. Harry was proving that he was indeed his father's son and that he had taken his many lessons over the years to heart; soon they would resume normal clan operations with Harry openly leading the men.

"Harry." Blaise called softly from the doorway and Harry jerked himself from his thoughts, coming back to the world full of soft beeps that now surrounded his once-strong father.

"What is it Blaise?" He resisted the urge to whisper as he answered, inwardly cursing himself as he gazed on Blaise.

She looked lonely, he hadn't been able to spend much time with her lately, it wasn't a good summer for the twins to come stay, and before it had always just been the two of them. He would have to find time to spend with her besides meals. There had once been a time when she had never hesitated in a doorway when approaching him and she had never had qualms about walking into his bedroom without knocking even though he was changing.

"There's a disturbance at the gate." She informed him. "Dad started down, but said you should come too. He sent me to tell you since you were in here and the new security..."

Harry rose from the comfortable chair and gently untangled his hand from his father's, moving toward Blaise and hugging her on instinct.

"Thanks Blaise." He whispered into her hair before letting go.

"For what?" She seemed startled.

"For being here. For putting up with me through all of this." Harry answered honestly. "You going to come with?"

Blaise grinned. "Yeah, I'm coming. Though if Dad fusses I'm telling him you ordered me to come."

Harry stuck his tongue out at her, suddenly realizing why his dad had loved to act childish at times--he had to.

"Alright." Harry agreed. "But if this disturbance doesn't turn into something big you owe me a movie night."

"You're on." Blaise cried happily. "Race you to the gate."

Harry didn't hesitate despite the fact that it would be indecorous for a Mafia Leader to run full out through the house when there wasnt an emergency. He figured that as long as he was laughing while he did it he wouldn't set the house on full alert. Thankfully he had been right, most of the guards relaxing into smiles after a brief tensing, and by the time Harry and Blaise reached the front gate things were in a state of controlled chaos. Trevor and one of the guards were pinning a pair of men up against the wall while a score of other guards sighted down their guns.

"What's going on here?" Harry put authority into his voice as he came to a halt a slight distance away, the guards that had followed him from the house--his security detail for the day--ranging out protectively around him and Blaise.

"This man has been identified as Sirius Black." Trevor answered, shoving Sirius a little harder into the wall. "He was caught skulking around the gate with his companion here by one of the patrols."

"Oh shit."

With everything that had happened he had completely forgotten that Sirius and Remus had been coming to seek sanctuary, especially now that the summer was nearly over and they were well passed their expected date.

"Stand down." Harry ordered. "Release them."

"Harry?" Trevor spoke, making it more of a question than the wary protest Harry knew it to be.

"It's alright Trevor." Harry went on to explain. "They're here on my invitation. I apologize for forgetting to inform you ahead of time that we would be having such a high-profile guest, but arrangements had been made before we left Hogwarts and a lot has happened since then so that it completely slipped my mind."

At Harry's order the guards had already stood down with their weapons hanging loose and at the ready, Remus had been let go, but only now did Trevor relinquish his hold on Sirius. Harry moved forward and clasped hands briefly with Sirius, then Remus.

"I'm sorry for the less than warm welcome, but things have been tense lately and they weren't expecting you."

"So we gathered." Sirius rubbed at the shoulder Trevor had wrenched to put him up against the wall. "Are you sure its a good idea for us to be here after all?"

Harry nodded. "The invitation still stands though things are going to be a bit different than expected. Come on up to the house and I'll explain further there."

Sirius and Remus exchanged looks of confusion before following--none of this was turning out like they had expected--and about half of the guards present fell in behind, a few peeling off at a time as they made their way up and through the house until only Vasile and Nara remained as guards outside the office.

"Have a seat." Harry indicated two of the chairs across from his dad's--his--desk to Sirius and Remus.

He knew without saying anything as he himself sat in the comfortable chair behind the desk that Trevor and Blaise wouldn't sit but would instead stand sentinel behind him. He was just glad Vasile and Nara had taken the hint and stayed outside the office at his signal, he didn't need to have to squash protests now that the Clan was nearly back to running as normal, but he knew that they too would hold their posts until the meeting was done.

"I want to apologize again for your reception at the gate but things aren't as I had expected when I left Hogwarts." Harry was still mentally hitting himself over actually forgetting, it wasn't like him.

"So you said." Sirius was edgy as if expecting a trap, not that Harry could blame him after having been falsely imprisoned for so long; when it came right down to it Sirius didn't really even have a reason to trust him.

"What's going on?" Remus was a bit more in control though his hand was still resting near his wand, which would explain the tenseness Harry could feel radiating off of Trevor. "How does this change things?"

"For you, nothing has changed. At a minimum I can still offer you a safe place to stay for a few weeks. Once you've settled in we can give you some options that would include longer term arrangements." Harry paused to let them take the next step, feeling Sirius and Remus out.

"And what does your father have to say about you offering a fugitive sanctuary." There was something akin to wiry amusement in Sirius' voice.

"Nothing." Harry stated bluntly, wanting to get it out of the way. "My father is in a coma, making me acting head of the Family. My decisions will not be questioned."

Two weeks ago that might not have been the case as Harry had found himself tested time and again by the guards and allies of the family so that he had to prove his worth, but now he was confident that he had shown himself to be his father's son.

"Ask your other questions." Harry went on. "I know you have to have at least one."

"Why all the guards, the security?" Sirius asked the one Harry had been waiting for. "This isn't like any muggle household I've seen."

Harry nodded. He had already resolved to trust these two, if he was wrong they could be taken care of. "That's because you are currently at Darkov Manor, the reigning seat of the Head of the Darkov Clan. My father is Manuel Darkov, King of the European Mafia Clans. From here we keep tabs on any group that operates under the radar of polite society and deal with them as necessary."

Harry didn't add that the whole organization had almost come crashing down to plunge Europe into chaos when his father had become inactive. Harry hated to admit it, but he had been shocked by how far his father's authority had actually extended. He had only ever dealt with the Great Britain chapters and heard minor reports from outlying Clans in other countries, including America where they had legitimate business interests. He had been bemused to discover that his father had been building an unofficial foothold in North America by lending support to the leading Clan there.

Remus' jaw had dropped right along with Sirius'. "Then what does that make you?"

Harry shrugged. "Mafia Prince and confirmed heir to the European Empire."

*** *** ***

Harry motioned Vasile and Nara in as Sirius and Remus followed a maid to their temporary quarters in the upstairs guest wing.

"I hate to do this to the two of you, but I'm going to be placing you on babysitting duty for a few days while they acclimate. Fill them in as tentative trainees but keep them away from anything sensitive. I've given them two weeks to make a decision." Harry paused, considering. "Split your shifts so that each of you will be accompanied by a normal guard. There are a few rooms still free on the Guard level of the guest wing if you decide to move temporarily, daytime coverage should be sufficient, but that'll be your decision."

Nara smiled wickedly. "Does that mean Vasile can be my roommate?"

Vasile looked properly horrified--Harry knew the Dagger was still trying to get used to Nara having a feminine side, especially now that she seemed to have turned her attentions to him--and began to edge to the door.

Harry shrugged. "You know as well as I do that there's no rule on who you room with when you're here as long as you give Trevor a change of rooming order and either there's an empty room or your roommates don't mind shifting about. How about G212?"

"Harry!" Vasile had a look of betrayal on his face as everyone else in the room started to laugh, Nara loudest of all.

"Don't worry Vasile." Nara finally broke and had pity on her lately sometimes-partner. "I go back to my apartment in town when I'm off duty. I only room on the grounds when needed."

Harry couldn't help but wonder what was going through Vasile's head as the man looked slightly disappointed when only a moment ago he had appeared trapped. He just wished Vasile could make up his mind instead of the two of them continuing to play these tension games--it was enough that Harry was beginning to wonder at times if he should have them working together so much. Harry found himself smiling at Vasile and Nara though, glad the two had been around lately even with the ping-pong game of emotions, he couldn't separate them when they worked so well together but that didn't mean he had to listen to their playful bickering in his office.

"I'm sure youre both hungry and Sirius and Remus should soon be settled. Trevor will have partners for you within the hour. That should give you enough time to get through the muggle-ignorant questions. Dismissed."

Nara and Vasile nodded sharply before taking their leave, the bickering picked right back up the moment they hit the hallway, and Harry turned to Blaise.

"Give me a moment to do some quick paperwork and send off an owl, then I'll join you for that movie I promised."

Blaise grinned. "Any longer than an hour and I'm hunting you down. Can I order delivery?"

Harry shrugged. "Why not? We haven't harassed the Thai delivery guy in ages; he's probably due for another scare."

Blaise smirked. "I'll see who's on gate duty. Want anything dad?"

Trevor nodded. "Surprise me within reason. Here, I'll even buy--no arguments Harry.

Harry shut his mouth as ordered; he'd get Trevor another time instead of wasting his breath.

* * *

Posted On: April 18, 2009


	2. To Become Free

Well, this chapter will answer at least one of the questions I keep getting, but I also expect it to spawn more. Enjoy.

_ShadeDancer_

Disclaimer: _I dont own Harry Potter or any such related things so sit back, enjoy the story, and dont sue me. Im still trying to find another penny to rub together with the single one that I currently possess in my name (in other words you wouldnt get a dime). Lol._

_Chapter 2:_ To Become Free

Harry, Blaise, and Trevor had just sat down to an early breakfast with Sirius and Remus when Severus walked into the small dining room.

"Good morning Severus." Harry greeted the Potions Master. "I'm glad you can make it for breakfast."

"Good morning Harry, Blaise. Trevor, It's good you see you." He turned and nodded sharply to the other two in the room. "Lupin. Black."

Knowing Severus would be coming by that day, Harry had wisely sent off an owl the night before to warn his Head of House of the new development in hopes of keeping the peace. Severus at least seemed willing, but Sirius' hot temper got the better of him.

"What is Snivellus doing here?"

Harry could see anger build in Severus' black eyes at the mention of the cruel nickname the Marauders had stuck him with and hurried to intervene.

"That's enough Sirius." He didn't raise his voice but, like Manuel, Harry had the gift of allowing his displeasure to show even in the softest of tones. "Severus is a friend and as such has an open invitation to visit as he wishes. I will not hear any insults against him, especially when he has managed to greet you without hatred."

Everyone wisely held their tongues, but the rest of breakfast was a tense affair as Sirius and Severus worked hard to keep their minimal conversation civil. By the end of the meal Harry was glad to send Sirius and Remus off with Vasile until Nara relieved him at lunch. Severus stayed behind to help Trevor with Harry and Blaise's lessons, his original reason for coming that day. Severus would never admit it out loud, but he had expected Harry to drop these summer lessons given the strain of sudden responsibility the young boy had found himself under. Harry had surprised him though and was keeping up with things quite well—he just wondered if Harry had told Blaise that he wouldn't be returning to Hogwarts on the first, instead relying on both himself and Trevor to provide his lessons. Looking at the girl he didn't think so. Harry interrupted his thoughts.

"What are we going to be working on today?"

It was Trevor who answered instead of Severus. "We will actually be taking a trip to the Ministry of Magic to fill out the required forms needed for your emancipation. As acting Patriarch of the household your status in the wizarding world requires you to be at least partially emancipated so that you can make decisions for the Clan and use magic outside of school; I will be acting in the capacity of an overseer for you. No Blaise, we cannot emancipate you unless you want to leave the Manor and loose the family name. We're going to be evoking an ancient law in order to gain Harry his freedom, for pureblood females in the wizarding world the only option for emancipation from your parents is through marriage."

Blaise pouted. "Dammit. That's not fair."

Trevor shrugged. "I don't make the rules; I just bend or break them as needed. Don't worry, we're working on a solution for you that doesn't involve emancipation."

**... ... ... ... ...**

Harry had never been to the Ministry of Magic before, but as he stepped from the fireplace they had floo'd into he found he wasn't all that impressed. In fact he was appalled. It was majestic, but in a gauche way, the lack of visible security disappointing for a strong-hold of the Wizarding World and home of the Auror Corps. But what really sickened Harry was the statue in the middle of the Atrium he found himself in. Wizards were really full of themselves if they considered a statue with a house-elf, a centaur, a goblin, and a mermaid gazing worshipfully up at a wizard to be a welcoming piece of art.

Trevor glanced in the direction Harry was looking and muttered a soft "ignorant" under his breath. Together the two of them walked towards a lazy Ministry clerk at the front desk so their wands could be recorded as being present in the building that day and received their visitor's badges. From there they moved quickly towards the elevator full of flying memos—already behind them Trevor and Harry could hear the whispers of "_Harry Potter_" and the "_Boy-who-lived_."

"Please tell me there are really impressive wards surrounding this place." Harry spoke lowly to Trevor. "Otherwise this would be a criminals dream and a security details nightmare."

"If there are it's nothing I've seen on my _odd_ visits. Now granted I've never visited the lower offices. Those I imagine will be up to expectation." Trevor shrugged and responded just as lowly, coding his words so Harry had to interpret the meaning.

The elevator stopped. "Here we are. The Family and Personal Affairs office is on this floor."

Harry stepped out, batting at a flying paper memo that got a little too close, and checked his watch. "We're a bit early so hopefully they can take us immediately. I would like to make it out into London and stop at the main office to check in sometime this morning."

Harry entered the already packed office waiting room and approached yet another bored-looking Ministry worker—apparently the secretary for this office—who didn't even look up from her magazine as she addressed him. "Sign in on the clipboard and take a seat over there. You'll be called in the order you signed in."

Harry glanced at the list of names on the clipboard and back at the full chairs. "And if I have an appointment?"

He kept his words neutral but let his tone warn the woman that she had better look up and give him proper customer service. It was a tone he was becoming quite used to using since taking over the Clan.

"We don't schedule…" The woman did look up, her irritated words trailing off as she recognized him by his scar. "Mr. Potter!"

"I believe special consideration was taken in allowing Mr. Potter to make an appointment due to special circumstances surrounding his status." Trevor smoothly slid himself into the conversation, one hand placed fatherly on Harry's shoulder.

Harry felt a tugging on his pants leg and looked down, allowing Trevor to galvanize the secretary into rousing her boss.

"Are you really _the_ Harry Potter?" A little girl asked, her eyes shining brightly out of her bruised face.

"I am." Harry knelt on the tiled floor to bring himself more on level with the girl, outraged that the girl had been beaten so badly, glancing back to see that some of the other kids had now grouped together to stare at him and the little girl talking. "What's your name?"

"Kaileigh."

Harry reached out and gently skimmed a finger along one of the child's bruised cheeks, not quite actually touching the injury. "That's a pretty name. How old are you?"

"I'm six."

"What happened to you?" He kept his voice soft so not to spook Kaileigh.

For a long moment Kaileigh stayed silent, Harry could see the lie wanting to form on her lips, before she glanced at his scar again and finally whispered. "My daddy."

"Your daddy?" Harry forced himself to control his voice as the little girl nodded fearfully, as if afraid her dad was suddenly going to appear. "And what about your mommy?"

"She's dead." A fretting middle-aged lady finally stepped forward. "Died when the girl was born. Her dad's always hit her, her looking so much like her mum, but last night he tried to kill her. I had to bring her here again. There's nowhere else."

Harry wanted to hit the woman and ask her why she hadn't done this earlier, but held his tongue. An idea was forming in his head; one he knew he would act on no matter how irrational.

"Mr. Potter?" A short, fatherly-looking wizard had come out of the office from behind the secretary's desk. "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. I'm Dorian Sterling. Please come on back. Mr. Zabini had already briefed me during a firecall so if you have the correct papers we can get them signed and you'll be on your way."

The office door shut behind them and Dorian gave a relieved sigh. "I must thank you Mr. Potter. Kaileigh Macnair has often been a visitor here, but we've never had the proof we need to remove her before. Her father's got a bit of clout, high friends. She's never confessed the truth before, always denied it."

Trevor looked up sharply. "Walden Macnair's kid?"

Dorian nodded. "He's still just as much of a bastard as he was in Hogwarts, but now he hides behind his job and the Malfoy family. The woman out there is Walden's housekeeper, she must be really worried because she's always dropped Kaileigh off and left before so that she wasn't missed."

As he spoke, Dorian was quickly shuffling through the papers Harry had pulled out of his briefcase and signing off on a document he had unrolled on his desk. Things were going extremely quick and Harry gave Trevor an appreciative nod for having set things up so efficiently.

"What's going to happen to Kaileigh?" He asked.

Dorian stopped what he was doing, a grim look on his face. "We'll try and place her with a good family or, barring that, a foster home. Whether we can safely keep her without Macnair getting to her is another story."

Harry nodded. "I'll take her. I can protect her and we can make it enough of a media event that Macnair won't attempt to take her back without having to go through legal channels. Can we get pictures of her current injuries and any records of past incidents?"

Dorian looked surprised at what Harry was proposing, but Trevor knew him a bit too well to truly be shocked.

"You want to adopt Kaileigh?"

Harry shook his head. "Not adopt, not at this time. That would be her decision after having a chance to live with me for a while. I want to make her my ward and that way she'll have options should another family come along that she wishes to live with. Of course the offer of adoption will be on the table should that be her decision after say…a year."

Dorian glanced over at Trevor and Trevor shrugged.

"You're sure of this Harry?" Trevor asked. "You've taken everything into consideration?"

Harry nodded. "I know Trevor. But I also know this is the right thing to do. We can protect her and give her a good home. Everything else we'll take in time."

Trevor turned back to Dorian. "Go ahead and bring her in. We can have the necessary paperwork drawn up. How quickly can we proceed? We'll also take care of any fees that might speed up the process."

Dorian smirked. "I've had paperwork ready for Kaileigh since her second visit here. The only thing I need is her confession of her father's abuse to be witnessed and someone from the medical ward to give her an examination for her injuries."

Harry smiled grimly. "Then let's get her in here. I'll get her to tell you the truth."

Dorian hadn't been kidding when he said he had all of the necessary paperwork prepped and ready for Kaileigh, so a little over an hour later Trevor and Harry were leaving the Ministry of Magic with Kaileigh walking between them while holding onto their hands.

"So I'm going to live with you? I don't have to go home to my daddy?" Kaileigh asked, curious.

"That's right." Harry told her. "We're going to take care of you now. In fact once the car arrives we're going to take you shopping for clothes and things for your new room."

"A room? I get a room?"

Harry nodded. "A room just for you. No more sleeping with the house-elves in the attic. And just wait, when we get home you'll get to meet Blaise."

**... ... ... ... ...**

Later that night after Kaileigh had been tucked into bed, snuggled comfortably under her new bedcovers in the room next to Harry's, Blaise slipped into Harry's room and pushed at him until he made room for her on the bed.

"You know, I can't believe you sometimes." Blaise murmured. "You get emancipated and convince my dad to help you bring home a little girl. We're barely twice her age and you've managed to get guardianship of Kaileigh. Are you sure that's wise?"

Harry lay back so that he and Blaise were cheek-to-cheek. "It just felt right. And you know as well as I do what throwing around money and powerful names can do. The only thing I regret is that we won't be able to leave Kaileigh out of the publicity surrounding this; she has to be a part of it. Besides, in the end I actually signed dad's name on the forms. I always wanted a little sister."

Blaise swatted at him. "I thought I had that distinction."

Harry smiled, looking up at the ceiling so Blaise could only see the profile of his face. "No, you're something better. You're my other half. My partner in crime."

Blaise curled closer to Harry. "I can live with that. I—just don't cut me loose, okay?"

Harry wormed an arm under Blaise, holding her. "No one will ever take your place, you know that right?"

"I know."

Harry's earlier conversation with Severus before Severus had left for the day flashed into his head.

"_You need to tell her soon, Harry." Severus had warned. "You two are close. It's going to hurt you both."_

"Blaise." Harry began. "There's something I need to tell you and I know you're not going to like it."

Blaise remained silent, waiting, and Harry had a feeling she had already guessed and had just been waiting for him to say it out loud so he pushed on.

"I won't be returning to Hogwarts this year."

For a long moment Blaise didn't respond, but finally she sighed. "I guessed. You're making me go?"

Harry tightened his arm around her. "Your dad will."

Harry felt his shirt grow damp where Blaise's head now rested.

"Can I stay in here with you tonight?" Her voice was wavery.

"Yeah." Harry shifted them both to a better position and waved his hand to draw the comforter up over them. "As long as you like."

* * *

Posted On: June 3, 2009


	3. Waning Heat

Sorry that its been a while for this update but, to use the excuse of many authors everywhere, work and classes have been taking up much of my time. These unfortunate things called bills exist and since I dont get paid for writing fanfiction is had fallen a bit on the importance list. I do not plan to stop writing though, no worries there.

_ShadeDancer_

Disclaimer: _I dont own Harry Potter or any such related things so sit back, enjoy the story, and dont sue me. Im still trying to find another penny to rub together with the single one that I currently possess in my name (in other words you wouldnt get a dime). Lol._

_Chapter 3:_ Waning Heat

The rest of the summer went remarkably smooth and, to all concerned parties, entirely too quick. Sirius and Remus had both shed a lot of baggage when they finally accepted that they had indeed found a safe haven where they wouldn't be shunned for who and what they were. Severus had continued to make wolfsbane for Remus at Harry's request, allowing Remus to curl up in one of the basement rooms without fear. Sirius had finally relaxed and come to believe that no one was going to turn him over to the police when Harry had presented him with a legal ID under the name of Orion Noir. Sirius was further surprised when some of the guards who had done time or were currently wanted for one reason or another banded together to teach him how to change his features just enough that he wouldn't be casually recognized should he go out.

Of course, that soon led to the two men being told more about the Clan and they decided it wouldn't be so bad to sign on as guards for the time being. For Remus it was a chance for decent employment without his condition being an issue, while for Sirius it was a way for him to put to good use the skills he had learned as an Auror before his imprisonment.

Kaileigh too had discovered a home and had reluctantly, after a bit of home tutoring to help her feel more confident, started school in the last two weeks of August. She was quiet and shy except around Harry, but she was slowly getting used to the routines of the house and was no longer so skittish with her guards. Harry was happy to see that she was very observant of her surroundings most of the time and had welcomed her questions when she began asking them—thankfully she was also accepting of when harry wouldn't, or couldn't, answer her latest query. Unfortunately Kaileigh still often woke up with nightmares, screaming until she felt Harry's arms around her to keep her safe, but Harry could see her gaining confidence as she flinched less and less around sudden movements. Soon he was going to start her learning some minor self-defense moves—not only would it further her confidence, but it would help her chances should she ever be attacked.

But all that was for another day, today was for fun. It was the also the day that Harry was closing down the Amusement Park to the general public to allow the local orphanages a chance to bring their charges in for free. Manuel had decided that it was a worthwhile event to repeat after the first year, the loss of income wasn't an issue for them and it had turned out to be great publicity for the Darkov corporations. The only downside that Harry could see was that this year he was being required to give a press release, something they hadn't done in previous years. He had been tempted to shove it off on Trevor, but that wouldn't have been responsible of him and Harry knew that as acting head of the family he was the one that needed to show off to the public eye. Which was why he was currently gritting his teeth behind a phony smile and calmly answering the questions being fired at him, attempting not to layer his answers with sarcasm.

"Mr. Darkov, what is the condition of your father? No one has heard anything for months. Are you trying to cover something up? Is he dead?"

Harry took a deep breath as one reporter's strident voice rose over the rest. It wouldn't help press relations if he pulled a gun and shot the moron in front of so many witnesses. Instead he forced himself to answer the questions that had been posed to him, the rest of the reporters waiting in hushed silence for the answers they all really wanted to hear.

"It is no secret that my father suffered an accident and has been in a coma, it made all the papers after all. To ask if he is dead is ridiculous. Do you honestly think we could hide the death of such a well-known figure? Why would I even want to?"

They had been rhetorical questions, but the reporter was either very ballsy or a moron.

"You would stand to gain a lot from your father's death, but if he dies who is to say the shareholders in your father's companies won't pull out. He would be more use to you if he were 'alive'."

The man actually dared make air quotes with his fingers as he said the word alive. Harry smiled at the man sweetly, eyes going steely. He'd have to wait a few weeks, let another sensational story consume the man, but then the moronic report was going to have an accident.

"Except for the major flaw in your logic, I wouldn't fault you for your uninspired reasoning. I have openly been running the companies, with the full support of the shareholders, without using my father's name as support. I really hope you didn't think too hard on this conspiracy theory of yours, I wouldn't want such trivial gossip to cause your mental processes so much stress, after all it is a bit cliché. This line of questioning is closed."

Trevor gave Harry a warning tap on the back from where he stood slightly behind him and Harry tapped his foot to show he understood, taking a question from a female reporter who he knew would focus on the day's event.

"This is the third year running that your family has held such an event and allowed the area orphanages to visit the Park free of cost, is there a particular reason why?"

"Two years ago it was a whim that started all this, a charity event. My father and I both attended the park that day two years ago and saw the faces of the children as they rode the rides and played the games. It's no secret that I could have been one of those children had Manuel not taken me in as an infant. There was no thought of not hosting the orphanages again. Besides," Harry added with an impish wink at the woman to lighten his words, it was a tried and true Darkov flirting technique, "since we close the park in order to have the children here it means no lines for the rides."

She laughed as Harry had expected her too, lightening the mood and dispelling any lingering bad vibes Harry had given out from the line of questioning on his father. Another woman, a brunette that Harry vaguely recognized as working for a small magazine, made a bid for his attention. Harry nodded at her, giving her the go-ahead to speak.

"Do you mind what might turn out to be a personal question instead of relating to the event?"

Harry laughed. "I believe such etiquette has already been breached. I thank you for asking though. What is your question? I might have to decline an answer but it never hurts to ask."

The brunette smiled at him, still a bit nervous as if she wasn't used to addressing people at press releases, and posed her question. "I of course recognize Mr. Zabini and his daughter from other Darkov events, but who is the little girl standing with you?"

Harry smiled. He had asked Kaileigh to stand up next to him just so this very question would eventually get asked; by publically exposing her as his ward in the muggle world he was further insuring her safety from her father.

"I would like to introduce you to Kaileigh. She is, until such a point that she chooses to explore the option of adoption either by my family or another, a ward of the Darkov family. I ask that the few of you who have gained permission to enter the park to day to interview our guests do not harass Kaileigh. She has recently joined us from an abusive home and deserves respect and her privacy."

The brunette nodded and smiled. "Thank you for answering."

"You're welcome. Now, I am afraid I'm going to have to consider these interviews at a close as I have other duties to attend to. I can see the buses full of excited kids approaching. Have a good day ladies and gentlemen."

Taking Kaileigh by the hand, Harry smiled and led the way off the raised stage they had been operating from.

"Mark that bastard." Harry whispered softly to Trevor as he walked by his second-in-command, his smile never slipping.

... ... ... ... ...

Harry cursed when he woke up September 1st to a knocking on his bedroom door. Next to him Blaise stirred reluctantly, she had pretty much moved into his room ever since the night Kaileigh had come to stay with them and he had confessed that he would not be returning to Hogwarts.

"Do I have to?" She whispered to him sleepily. Harry needed no clarification.

"Afraid so." Harry murmured back. "I'll come with you as far as the Platform."

Blaise sat up and rolled out of the bed, stumbling to Harry's bathroom where she had stashed a change of clothes the night before. She wouldn't argue about going beyond the token protest she had given upon waking, everything argument had already been made and refuted over the past week, but it was clear how unhappy Blaise was by her reluctant movements. It was Harry's concession that he would go to the station with Blaise despite his busy schedule and knowing that it would only make the parting harder.

Another knock came on the door. "Are you up?"

"Up and moving." Harry called out to the guard who had drawn the short straw. "Go tell Trevor not to get his knickers in a twist. We'll be on time. Blaise isn't happy, but she's not going to make trouble."

"Alright."

The guard responded and Harry heard him walk away, easily trusting Harry's word and believing in it enough to relay it back to Trevor despite the fact that both he and Blaise could easily be planning to run. It made him feel good to know the guards were willing to take his word over what he had no doubt had been Trevor's order to wait around.

A few minutes later Blaise came out of the bathroom, dressed in her Hogwarts' uniform minus the robe. "All yours. I'll see you down at breakfast."

Harry nodded. "Won't be but a few minutes. I want to tell Kaileigh where we're going, but I don't want to risk taking her with us the Platform. Make sure you save some pancakes for me."

... ... ... ... ...

The Platform was as crowded as always, people calling to one another as they caught up after being apart for the summer. Trevor, Harry, Blaise, and a few guards easily navigated the crowds until they found an empty compartment midway on the train. After helping Blaise stow her trunk Trevor kissed his daughter goodbye and motioned to Vasile and Nara to follow him out for the moment. Immediately Harry pulled Blaise into a hug.

"It'll be alright. Severus is working on a potion that should help dad. If things go as planned I'll be back at Hogwarts soon."

Blaise knew as well as he did the chances of success, but she wanted the comfort and so nodded against Harry's shoulder. They stepped apart, both suddenly feeling awkward. This would be the longest they had ever been apart and over the past few years they'd nearly become inseparable.

"I guess this is it then." Blaise sighed, wrapping her arms around herself.

"I'll come and visit as much as I can." Harry promised. "There's nothing in Hogwarts' laws and rules that say you can't have visitors. I just wish I had been able to secure permission to send Nara with you this year."

Blaise shrugged. "The Headmaster said no and so did the Board. There's nothing you can do. I'll be fine. Sev'll be there if I need anything. Besides, you've made sure I'm armed to the teeth. I don't think I've ever carried so much at Hogwarts before."

"Better safe than sorry." Harry quipped, knowing Blaise was armed more than usual because he had once been the one to carry that much before so she wouldn't have to.

Blaise swatted at him. "You're sounding like my dad. Now get out of here before they have to come back looking for you."

Harry gave Blaise one last quick hug before turning and leaving the compartment, refusing to look back and make things harder on the both of them.

"Oy, Harry!" The twins spotted Harry as he was heading off the train.

"We do hope that everything is alright now. Very cryptic of you this summer."

"This year promises to be exciting. Something huge is going on."

"Very secretive. We're all set with a new line of pranks to pull as well."

Harry grinned ruefully after the twins' ping-pong speech. "I'm afraid you'll be operating without me. I won't be attending Hogwarts this year."

"Not attending! Why not?" George finally asked when he managed to stop gaping.

"We told you that my dad was sick, which was why no one was allowed over." Harry explained, it was no longer something they were trying to keep secret since he had publically started running the companies. "The truth is that he's in a coma and I've taken over running the Family businesses. I can't do that from Hogwarts."

The twins nodded in dismayed understanding, knowing how things had changed without their father around.

"There is a favor I want to ask you—" Harry went on.

"Don't worry." Fred guessed what Harry wanted. "We'll keep an eye—"

"—or four—"

"—on Blaise for you."

Harry nodded his thanks. "Just try and keep her spirits up. Don't let her hide away."

The warning whistle blew to let parents know to get off the train and Harry wished the twins goodbye before stepping off as well. His action caught the attention of students leaning out of the windows, yelling their farewells to family, and immediately people were calling to him. Harry knew rumors would be flying during the ride to Hogwarts and was glad the twins would be there with Blaise.

Trevor placed a hand on Harry's shoulder, Nara and Vasile coming up to stand alert beside him. "She's waving goodbye."

Harry looked at the window for Blaise's compartment and discovered that Trevor was right, Blaise was waving to them with a wavering smile on her face and Harry could just make out the twins behind her. Harry lifted his hand briefly and let it drop, turning to follow Trevor from the station as the train began to pull out. There was still business to take care of in London that morning, no need to linger and make things more painful.

* * *

Posted On: October 15, 2009


	4. Proposals

Well, heres an update for you. Hopefully it works. I'm thinking something went wrong with the one-shot I posted so let me know if there's anything wrong with this one.

_ShadeDancer_

Disclaimer: _I dont own Harry Potter or any such related things so sit back, enjoy the story, and dont sue me. Im still trying to find another penny to rub together with the single one that I currently possess in my name (in other words you wouldnt get a dime). Lol._

_Chapter 4:_ Proposals

Blaise sat at her usual spot at the Slytherin table, patiently fielding questions from people of all houses asking her where Harry was; despite not letting anyone get too close to them, Harry and Blaise had made a lot of connections over the past three years. Finally, Blaise was saved from having to repeat herself yet again when Dumbledore stood to make his announcements.

"…and lastly," Dumbledore was saying after having gone though the usual run of the mill announcements. "This year Hogwarts has the distinct honor of hosting an event that hasn't happened in quite a number of years—The Triwizard Tournament."

Immediately the students broke out in excited conversation and Blaise shot a look at Severus—he hadn't mentioned anything about this over the summer. Severus made a small, barely noticeable gesture of helplessness and tapped at his arm where his wand was usually sheathed. Blaise gave a nod of acknowledgement, understanding that Severus had been magically bound to secrecy. Dumbledore managed to settle the students down after letting them have a few minutes to have their excited talk.

"Settle down now. The heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their short-listed contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place at Halloween. An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons personal prize money."

The mutterings started up again, yells from Gryffindor showing that many of the students there wanted to enter, but Dumbledore hadn't finished speaking yet.

"Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts." Dumbledore had held his hands up to regain silence again. "The heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age—that is to say, seventeen years or older—will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration. This is a measure we feel is necessary given the dangers of the tasks despite our best precautions and I will personally see that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts champion."

Dumbledore eyed a few of the more suspicious students, the Weasley twins in particular.

"The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in October and remaining with us for the greater part of the school year. I know that you will extend them every courtesy and make them feel welcome here at Hogwarts even as you whole-heartedly support whoever is named Hogwarts champion. Now, it's late and classes start early tomorrow and I'm sure you all wish to be well-rested and eager to learn. Off to bed now. Chop chop."

Blaise stood with the rest of the students and joined the flow leaving the Great Hall. All around her talk buzzed about who was going to enter the Tournament and others voicing their displeasure on not being able to enter. Blaise thoughts had taken another track and she knew she needed to get an owl off to Harry early the next morning—she do it tonight if she thought she could make it to the Owlry and back without getting caught. Maybe Severus—

"Hey Zabini." It was Draco who called out to her in the halls, pulling her from her thoughts. "I think I was wrong to discount you for hanging around with Potter. You showed tonight you were a Slytherin, your network through the school is impressive. I would like to extend to you an offer of my friendship."

Blaise regarded Draco steadily. She and Harry had discussed many times how the Malfoy heir could be a good ally if he'd stop parroting his father and stop being such a snob. Draco had just given her the opening she needed to implement a plan she and Harry had discussed over the summer—she hadn't expected the opportunity to arise so quickly though. Looking around Blaise saw they had reached Slytherin territory by that time so she didn't hesitate to speak her piece.

"The network wasn't my doing. It was Harry's." Blaise told Draco neutrally. "I'm not trying to offend you, but if you want to be 'friends' you're going to have to prove yourself and get over your hang-ups about Harry. If you'd open your eyes and stop spouting off your parent's hatred of him because he was powerful enough to off Voldemort as an infant you'd realize just how much of a true Slytherin he is. Harry is combining the best of the muggle world with this world—think of the power behind that."

"Why you—"

"That's enough Mr. Malfoy." Professor Snape stepped from the shadows. "Ms. Zabini does actually have a point. I have watched Mr. Potter over the past few years and he has proved himself a Slytherin. He has even managed, dare I say, to bring some respectability back to our house. Perhaps it is something you should think on. Now get in your dorms before I start assigning detentions."

Severus gave Blaise a warning look, silently telling her to tread carefully since she didn't have Harry to watch her back inside the dorms, before stalking off in a swirl of black cloth.

**... ... ... ... ...**

Harry sat at his desk, pursuing the newest reports he had been given on the state of the Clan's holdings, idly sipping at the cooling tea Lucille had brought him some time earlier. Thankfully most of the paperwork was routine and quickly gone through now that he knew what he was looking at, but near the end of the reports Harry came to a sheath of parchment that had been slipped in with the normal paperwork. Reaching with his left hand, his right was busy flipping back and forth between a few of the pages, Harry hit a buzzer.

"Trevor." Harry didn't need to say anything more; he knew that Trevor would arrive in his office within minutes of receiving the summons.

Standing and stretching Harry went to the couch where Kaileigh had fallen asleep after earlier pleading to stay in the office with him. Carefully Harry lifted her and carried Kaileigh to the door. In his arms, the little girl stirred as he awkwardly shifted her to reach for the door handle.

"It's time for you to sleep in your bed sweetie." Harry told her softly. "Vasile will tuck you in and I'll stop by when I go to bed and tuck you in again."

"M'kay." Kaileigh murmured sleepily as Harry passed her to Vasile, the older man easily accepting the burden with the ease of practice—occasionally he would still tease Harry on how Manuel had often done the same with him when he had been younger and refused to go to bed, preferring to fall asleep in the office with his father.

Moments later Trevor arrived and Harry shared the report passed to him through a contact from the Goblins.

"An interesting proposal." Trevor mused. "I take it you wish to accept?"

Harry nodded. "The Wizarding World won't know what hit them. We had already talked about establishing ourselves amongst them, what better way to do it than with the backing of the sole-financial institution the witches and wizards rely on. They need us to be their liaison with the Ministry, to give them an actual right of voice, and we need the knowledge they can provide us. It cuts years off our work."

"I'll arrange a meeting then." Trevor made a note on a section of the parchment, infusing it with magic to send the message to the Goblins; moments later a reply came and Trevor raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "The Goblins can meet with us immediately; they've opened a direct floo for us."

Harry shrugged. "Let's not keep them waiting then."

After doing a quick inventory check of their persons, Trevor and Harry shortly found themselves spinning through the beautiful green flames to land in a well-appointed and well-warded room in Gringotts. Harry and Trevor took their surroundings, determined there was no threat, and seated themselves in the provided chairs. They were ready to play the waiting game, it was a typical struggle of dominance that was used among the Clans to put people in their place and to see how they might slip up so Harry had expected something of the like. What he hadn't expected was that the Goblins hadn't actually planned to keep them waiting. Mere moments after they had sat down, a Goblin appeared to lead them to a conference room.

"Greetings Lord Potter-Darkov, Lord Trevor." Another Goblin stood as they entered the room. "Please be seated. I am the Lord Ragnok."

Harry inclined his head and took the proffered seat. "Greetings Lord Ragnok. I must admit you have us intrigued with your offer."

The Goblin gave a toothy smile. "So we had hoped. We can do a great deal for each other, Lord Darkov, it's just a matter of coming to a mutual agreement that will enrich both our coffers."

"Indeed." Harry replied back; Trevor was allowing him to do all the talking at the moment, it would not do for Trevor to appear to the Goblins to have dominance over Harry since Harry was the acting head of the Clan. "Then perhaps we should get down to business."

It took a few hours of haggling and both sides combing the document that had been written up for fine-print and loop-holes, but at last they were satisfied enough with the agreement to turn it over to their lawyers for a final inspection and the signing.

"May gold fill your vaults to the brim, Lord Potter-Darkov, Master of the Catacombs." Ragnok shook Harry's hand as he and Trevor prepared to depart.

"May all your endeavors prove to enrich your coffers, Lord Ragnok, Master of Gringotts." Harry replied back in kind before he and Trevor availed themselves to the floo network again.

Exiting the fireplace, Trevor and Harry made their way to the office where Trevor poured them both a stiff drink; it was both a celebration and a pick-me-up and was one of the rare times Trevor had allowed him to drink anything other than the sometimes-requisite wine.

"Congratulations Harry." Trevor toasted him. "You are now the Master of the Catacombs and Goblin-ally. I never thought I'd ever be part of something like this."

Harry grinned back tiredly, sipping at the whisky in his glass and idly thinking how well it would help him sleep when he crawled into bed. "Shrewd little buggers, those Goblins, but I'm pleased. I can't wait to explore the catacombs they're giving us access to. And the one's they mentioned being beneath Hogwarts…I still want to know how they knew I had beaten the Basilisk and Riddle to become the Master of those. They must have a source inside Hogwarts. Or they have it bugged somehow."

Trevor looked thoughtful. "We can always ask, the worse they can tell us is to go bugger ourselves. But for now you need to get to bed. I don't care if you're the Lord Darkov, you still need to sleep."

Childishly Harry stuck out his tongue. "Yes Uncle Trevor. I didn't plan on doing anything more tonight anyhow. I just want to check in on dad and Kaileigh before I turn in."

Trevor nodded and smiled. "Mind if I walk with you to your dad's room?"

Harry shook his head to show that he didn't mind and together the two walked companionably through the near-silent halls of the Darkov Mansion, nodding at the few Guards that they passed. It had been an extremely profitable night for the Clan. The only thing that could possibly make it better was to see a change for the better in Manuel, but Harry didn't get his hopes up. As each day passed it became more and more likely that Manuel would never wake up, at this point Harry's hopes rested on Severus finding a magical cure capable of working effectively on a muggle.

* * *

Posted On: March 21, 2010


	5. Halloween Night

I've decided that this time I won't apologize for taking so long to update, not with how busy my schedule has been these days.

_ShadeDancer_

Disclaimer: _I don't own Harry Potter or any such related things so sit back, enjoy the story, and don't sue me. I'm still trying to find another penny to rub together with the single one that I currently possess in my name (in other words you wouldn't get a dime). Lol._

_Chapter 5:_ Halloween Night

Harry moved gracefully around the ballroom with the daughter of a very well-to-do Parliament member on his arm. The girl was dressed in a magnificent gown of gold and silver tones, her long black hair done up in some complicated style that brought out the features of her face beneath her skimpy costume mask—she would make someone a very lovely trophy wife some day, but Harry couldn't have been less interested despite the attention he flattered upon her. Her answers were too well constructed, she moved gracefully but held herself apart as if all too aware of the dictates of propriety. The girl had been brought up well, but in being taught how to be the model daughter and future wife she had suppressed her natural self and was lacking in true animation. Harry didn't need the girl to continuously compliment him on his well cut Jack the Ripper costume—leave it to Trevor to find a costume in which Harry could openly carry at least one weapon and that also allowed him to give off a subtle vibe of danger—and dancing skill, he just wanted someone his age to talk with.

The Halloween Masque was a tradition for the Darkov Clan to host as a way for them to bring together the heads of the various lesser Mafia Clans from around Europe for an affirmation of fealty and to fulfill their obligation to British's High Society given the Darkov family's high standing in the business structure of the country. In the years before he had gone to Hogwarts Harry had been allowed to the Clan dinner that was held beforehand and attended the ball long enough to dance the first dance of the night with whatever partner his father had carefully selected so as to make a good political impact. Every year Harry had always begged his father to be allowed to stay the whole night to enjoy the party only to be denied and whisked off after that first dance, now he wanted nothing more than to escape. It was irony at its best.

The last few notes of the song tapered off into the air and Harry gracefully brought his dance partner to a finish, disengaging from her hold and bowing his thanks for her company for the set before escorting her back to her father. A few words to the father, a political hint or two, and Harry would move on to the next person he needed to make nice to according to the script he and Trevor had spent the last few weeks working out. Thankfully his work with the Clans that swore fealty to the Darkov's had mostly been taken care of during the earlier dinner and he hadn't had to do much there except prove that he was every bit as competent as Manuel had been.

Manuel's father had actually put a good system into place during his reign that actually spared Europe a lot of the bloodshed that went on in other parts of the world: The Darkov's were the biggest and most powerful Clan in Europe and they allowed the smaller Clans to exist as long as they didn't get in the way of the Darkov Clan, and in return the Darkov Clan mediated any disputes that arose between the lesser Clans. Of course, even with this solid system in place it didn't mean that it wouldn't hurt if Harry deviated from the original plan a bit to spend a little more time with a few of the Clan Heads—it would also save his sanity because while they were deferential to him given his standing as Prince of the European Mafia Empire, they also weren't about to waste his time with carefully worded political and business ventures tonight.

All too soon Harry found himself back on the dance floor with another daughter of a Parliament member, but this one thankfully had not yet been fully broken to conform to society's expectations. She was a livelier dance partner and Harry found himself un-tensing just enough to enjoy himself without losing his focus or awareness of the myriad of activity around him. Therefore, while put out when Vasile approached him, he was not surprised when the Dagger placed a hand on his shoulder and whispered covertly into his ear.

"_We have a breach. At least two wizards slipped through the wards and appear to be on their way to the house."_

Harry nodded his understanding and Vasile withdrew, allowing Harry to politely finish up the remainder of the dance with his partner. A few quick words to his guests to continue to enjoy the party, that a family matter had arose, and he and Trevor were able to slip out of the party.

"Tighten security." Harry ordered as he moved quickly past the Dagger, Vasile falling into step with them to receive his orders. "Slip a few men in the doors. I don't expect any trouble in there, but…"

"Understood." Vasile grinned, raising a hand to his ear and enacting Harry's commands through the mobile com system all the guards had.

Nara slipped up next to them, handing Harry and Trevor radios and earpieces already tuned to the reports coming in from all over the grounds.

"There's only two." Nara reported as Harry fit in his ear piece and adjusted the volume. "They slipped in at a point where the guards patrolling were muggle. The guards were incapacitated, but are still alive. The wizards are nearing the rear-outside door of the guest wing."

Harry gave a curt nodded and headed in the correct direction, drawing his wand as he went. "Alert Sirius and Remus, have them on standby just in case."

Nara melted away to do as she was told while Vasile stayed to help engage the intruders. The extra caution proved to be unnecessary. The wizards had expected no resistance with the Ball in progress and were quickly stunned, it was actually a bit of a letdown for Harry, and he could only surmise that they even made it onto the grounds at all because they had been forced to relax the wards for the Ball tonight. Once Harry was sure his prisoner was well tied up, he enervated the man.

"Let's try this the easy way." Harry started off as the scruffy wizard came around. "Though I almost hope you pick the hard way now that you've dragged me out of my party with your lucky incompetence. What are you doing here and who do you work for?"

The wizard broke in just under two minutes, too weak to keep his silence. "Macnair. Macnair sent us to deal with his brat. She's a loose end. We were to bring her back or kill her."

Harry's eyes grew icy and he decided he didn't need to hear anymore in order to make his decision; not when they were threatening a member of his family. Holstering his wand, Harry pulled a gun from the holster at the small of his back, quietly accepting the silencer Trevor held out to him and screwing it on. Emotionlessly Harry extended his arm, sighting down the length of it, and squeezed the trigger—once, twice—there was no longer a threat.

"Clean this up and I want a change out of the perimeter patrols." Harry ordered the nearby guards as he removed the silencer from his gun and handed it back to Trevor. "Vasile, Nara, I want you to meet Trevor and I in my office in ten minutes."

Nods were given to show they understood Harry's orders and the group broke away to handle their tasks.

"You should go back to the Ball." Trevor advised to Harry. "There were a handful of people left who you should talk to."

Harry shook his head. "No, I won't be going back in. If excuses need to be made, inform the guests that I am at my father's side. Let them take that how they will. I can speak to those I missed at another time. Right now we are going to plan what to do about Macnair."

None of those present on the lawn saw the shadowed figure of the acolyte slip away after witnessing Harry's handling of the prisoners. The acolyte had much to report—to both his masters.

**... ... ... ... ...**

Severus stumbled out of the fireplace at the Darkov Manor with none of his usual grace. Thankful that he had been keyed to the wards around the Floo room so that he could come and go without hassle, Severus raced for Harry's office.

"Harry!" Severus burst into the room, having brushed past the guards on the door with a simple spell—he would apologize later. "I don't care if you're busy, we have a problem."

Harry looked up from the map he had been going over with Trevor, Vasile, and Nara and discretely slid his wand away. The other three were not so discreet and Nara actually glared at Severus.

"There are guards on the door for a reason." She snapped, already in a bad mood. "And it's not so that you can conveniently magic them out of your way."

Harry held up a hand, halting Nara's tirade and any snarky remarks Severus had been about to make in return. "Vasile, Nara, please excuse us. I will call you back later."

Reluctantly Vasile and Nara left, ignoring the two guards Severus had incapacitated on his way in.

"What has happened?" Harry demanded once they were gone. "Is Blaise alright?"

Severus shook his head, not bothering to sugarcoat things. "Her name came out of the Goblet of Fire. She's magically bound to compete in the Tri-wizard Tournament."

Harry swore lowly and moved to intercept Trevor to keep him from attacking Severus or leaving before they could get more information and plan their strategy for this new development.

"How the fuck could you let this happen?" Trevor wasn't thinking straight knowing his daughter was in danger, almost hitting Harry in order to get by the Darkov heir who was firmly holding his ground between Severus and Trevor. "You're supposed to be watching out for her. Merlin, the death toll alone…she's not even of age!"

Severus hadn't backed away, allowing Harry to calm Trevor, but now he explained further. "The only thing we can come up with is that someone of age had to have entered her name in under a mythical fourth school. Blaise has been set up. Someone is trying to get her killed—or at least badly hurt."

"They're trying to get to me, to draw me out." Harry spoke what was obvious to everyone in the room, the one thing no one else was willing to actually utter. "I'm not at Hogwarts so they're using Blaise to get to me."

Severus nodded. "It's what I suspect as well."

Harry shrugged nonchalantly and moved to his desk, rummaging for the things he wanted. "Well, it's going to work. Is there any way to get Blaise out of the Tournament since she doesn't meet the age requirement?"

"No." Severus stated baldly. "It's a magically binding contract no matter the participants age—the age restriction was an added magic around the Goblet and not on it."

Harry nodded, mind working quickly and calmly despite his overwhelming urge to hit something and hit it hard.

"Alright. Is there a way for another person to assume the debt of her contract?"

Severus looked thoughtful, mentally reviewing the paper copy of the contract that had been given to him for review as Blaise's Head of House since she was underage. "Yes. The immediate head of her family could assume the debt as long as they met the requirements of the contract—"

"Good." Trevor's eyes blazed with determination. "I'll do it. They'll regret trying to draw Harry out by going after my daughter!"

Severus shook his head and continued. "But that person also has to be a student at the participating school since only students of the schools who were submitted to the Goblet of Fire are eligible under the contract."

"Which means I'm the one that will go." Harry didn't look up from the paper he was writing. "We'll head to Hogwarts and relieve Blaise of the contract as soon as I finish this and address the guards."

"It's not going to be that simple." Severus commented to reign things in a bit. "The magic involved in the Tri-wizard contracts are ancient. Even one part unfulfilled will cause you to be rejected and the consequences could be dire for both you and Blaise. First, we need to somehow set you up to be enrolled in this fictional school that Blaise's name was submitted under and second, Trevor would have to make you the Patriarch of his family—clan hierarchy won't be enough in this instance."

Harry stopped writing to mull over the ramifications of Severus' last point, he knew what it meant to be a family Patriarch, Trevor had made him study on it extensively since he was Lord Potter and responsible for the families that owed fealty to the Potter line; it was a system rarely used anymore, but one that still held in place from ages past.

Harry turned to the man who was his advisor, like an uncle to him, and his friend. "It's your call Trevor. If you choose to do this we will write up a contract outlining agreeable terms and giving you a termination clause that you can enact anytime after the Tournament is over."

Trevor shook his head. "Manuel will kill me if I allow you to do this. The right of Patriarch doesn't concern me overmuch, Blaise and I are the last of my family now, but Manuel—"

Harry's face was a mask. "My father is rather incapable of killing you at the moment and whether you help me or not I will find a way to take Blaise's place. I'm sure there are other conditions within the contract that will allow me to do so."

Trevor looked to Severus, knowing Harry's stubborn expression all too well. "Severus?"

Severus shook his head. "He's emancipated. You helped emancipate him. It'll be better to help him than to hinder him. Besides, I think he'd have a chance at the Tournament with all the training he's had. Blaise doesn't. Short of forfeiting everything, something she cannot do without grave repercussions from the contract, Blaise will have to compete."

Harry had turned away after making the comment about his father and he still did not face them as he spoke again. "She's scared, isn't she? She'll look ready and determined, but she's scared and alone. I have to take her place. I can't let her risk herself when I'm able to spare her."

"What about the clan?" Trevor asked, already realizing that he had lost and was going to help Harry take his daughters place in the Tournament. "You won't easily be able to leave Hogwarts once you take the contract, if you can at all.

"I'll leave a set of standing orders and run what I can from Hogwarts." Harry shrugged. "The rest you can handle until either my father or I are able to resume the day-to-day running of things."

Trevor nodded and added his signature to the paper Harry handed him after reading over it quickly and making one small amendment. "Let's get started then. We have a lot of work to do and a visit to pay to the Goblins."

Severus took this moment to take his leave. "I must return to the school as quickly as possible. I'll owl or floo you if I come across anything else you need to know in order to enact the switch of contract."

"Thank you. Severus—" Harry hesitated to say more, but drew in a breath. "Don't tell Blaise what we're going to do. She won't like it. She has to know as well as we do why she was chosen and she'll blame herself to know that we're taking the bait."

Severus nodded curtly, not happy that he couldn't reassure the worried girl, but he knew Harry was right. With his robes billowing about him Severus left the room, pausing just long enough to enervate the guards he had incapacitated on his way in and send them in to Harry.

* * *

Posted On: May 23, 2010


	6. Transference

I apologize for taking so long to update. Unfortunately I cannot guarantee when another update will be. Sorry people, but I'm working at least 50 hours a week and taking 4 college classes. All that comes first, followed by whatever sleep I can grab.

_ShadeDancer_

Disclaimer:_I don't own Harry Potter or any such related things so sit back, enjoy the story, and don't sue me. _

_Chapter 6:_ Transference

"We will get to your request in about eight weeks if we feel like it." The Goblin at the desk didn't look up from the papers he was perusing; in fact he was ignoring everything Harry had said. "A representative will contact you then and speak to you about options."

Harry's eyes flashed. "That's unacceptable and I am not here to leave a request with you. I am here to speak with Lord Ragnok. You will tell him that Lord Potter is here to speak with him."

The Goblin looked up, a nasty smirk crossing his face. "We do not take kindly to threats, _Mr_. Potter. I think it's time you leave now. Security will see to it."

"Grasgon!" It was a Goblin Harry had encountered once or twice before…Griphook. "By the shafts of our fathers, what are you doing?"

"I'm expelling vermin." The desk clerk, Harry made a mental note of the name Grasgon, didn't seemed perturbed in the least; he probably thought he was about to be praised for doing the right thing.

Griphook looked as distressed as a Goblin could. "I am sorry Lord Potter. If you and Lord Zabini will follow me I will take you directly to Lord Ragnok myself." Griphooks eyes flashed nastily to Grasgon. "I hope this encounter has not soured relations. I will also see personally to Grasgon's reprimand, an action that I hope will do much to redeem our honors and continue to fill both our coffers through mutual business endeavors."

"Thank you, Lord Griphook." Harry inclined his head very slightly in a polite gesture that did not place either of them into the category of a lesser being—a difficult balance to achieve. "I believe that such gestures will restore honor to our relations in short order."

Harry resisted the urge to smirk at Grasgon and in no time at all they were admitted to Ragnok's office. It the time it took to outline the situation, the shrewd Goblin had quickly devised a plan of action that fit nicely in with what Harry and Trevor had already worked out.

"We will immediately get you 'enrolled' in this school that Mr. Severus Snape provided you the information for and take care of the legalities necessary to transfer the right of Patriarch." Ragnok tapped a series of glowing stones on his desk, presumably sending off instructions. "I am confident that we can have everything in order within the week. The very beginning of the next at the very latest."

Harry exchanged a frustrated glance with Trevor, but sighed and nodded. "Thank you Ragnok. I do not mean to seem ungrateful, but the longer the wait in this matter…we cannot afford to lose the opportunity to make the switch."

"I understand Lord Zabini." Ragnok said. "We shall work with all haste."

**... ... ... ... ...**

Not quite even a full week later Harry, Trevor, Vasile and Nara apparated to the edge of the Hogwarts-Hogsmeade wards; apparition had been one of the first things Trevor had taught Harry when he had become emancipated—it made a perfect escape in their line of work.

Harry gazed up at the beauty of Hogwarts Castle with mixed feelings. He hadn't expected to be back here this week—or perhaps ever—and he was now being torn between his duty of Blaise and his duty to the clan. He couldn't not have come, but at the same time his place was at the head of the Clan. Harry let out a small, inaudible sigh. The Clan would be alright. Trevor, Vasile and Nara would see to that and he'd be prepared to do damage control when he got home if it was necessary. He hoped it wouldn't be. He had spoken long and well to the Guards, explained to them Blaise's plight, and personally addressed each one of them and reminded them of how long they had known him and Blaise. Many had volunteered to help him exact revenge on whoever had set Blaise up to draw him out. No, any damage control needed would be from the outside. Harry was hoping that by working from Hogwarts and Trevor working from home with the support of the Guards would quash any threat stemming from his physical absence could be greatly minimized.

"Are you ready?" Trevor spoke softly from beside him, Vasile and Nara having moved behind him to take up their position as bodyguards. "You don't have to do this you know. We can try to find another way."

Harry knew that Trevor was speaking to him with the Clan in mind as well as a concerned uncle, giving him a way out. As a frantic father, Harry knew Trevor was relieved Harry was doing this even as his conscious was screaming at him that he shouldn't be putting the Head of the Clan in danger. It was a difficult place for Trevor and the usually calm and collected man had started to offer him the chance to back out. They were offers Harry couldn't take. No, as a Daughter of the Clan, Blaise's safety was his concern and responsibility and that had been how he replied to Trevor's every offer of escape.

"No." Harry didn't look at Trevor, continuing to gaze up at the castle with a calm confidence he didn't fully feel. "This is my duty and my right. Let's go. Dinner should be nicely underway by now."

Harry started forward up the path to the castle, a flick of his hand signaling the others to follow in their current formation. They moved in silence, all four moving with a confident grace that screamed danger to anyone smart enough to recognize the level of obvious training they had. This was the sight they presented to the inhabitants of Hogwart's Great Hall as they entered in the middle of the meal, drawing the eyes of the teachers and students from the three gathered schools. Whispers broke out from the Hogwarts students, the other two schools soon joining in as they realized who exactly had just walked in.

"Mr. Potter, what a pleasant surprise." Dumbledore had stood up from the head table. "We hadn't expected to see you here. Might I ask what the pleasure of this visit is for?"

Even as he answered the question, Harry had eyes for no one but Blaise as she rose from her spot at the Slytherin table and stood facing him.

"I, Lord Harry James Potter-Darkov, Head of the respective houses of Potter, Darkov and Zabini, Have come to invoke the right of Patriarch to assume the debt of Blaise Zabini's contract in the Tri-wizard Tournament. So mote it be."

"No Harry!" Blaise cried out, horrified, finally moving towards the group in the doorway. "Dad, don't let him! Can't you see it's a trap you idiots. I don't allow this!"

But it was too late. A golden band had become visible around Blaise's wrists, a physical manifestation of the Tri-wizard contract, and unfurled to abandon Blaise and wrap itself around Harry's arm where it flared brightly in acceptance before fading into invisibility.

"Damn you." Blaise now stood face-to-face with Harry, tears in her eyes. "You idiot. You fucking idiot! You're not supposed to risk yourself for me. I took the oath to protect you. Not the other way around."

Harry folded his arms around Blaise, pulling the girl closer even though she remained stiff against him for a long moment before relenting and allowing him to hold her.

"By taking the oath you placed yourself under my protection." Harry whispered softly into Blaise's ear. "This is the way it works. You're my best friend, my other half. There was nothing else I could have done."

Dumbledore cleared his throat, interrupting the moment. "Perhaps this would be better handled in my office. Severus, Minerva, if you would join us?"

Blaise rallied her composure but her eyes promised that she still wasn't done speaking with Harry about his stupidity as she took her place on Harry's left, mirroring her father, and the moment they were out of the Great Hall she crossed her arms at her chest.

"I can't believe you would be this stupid." Blaise spoke in a low voice to both Harry and her father as they followed the professors down the hall. "What were you thinking?"

Harry raised an eyebrow, thinking that he had just explained everything in the Great Hall. "I was thinking that someone under my protection, who incidentally is my best friend, was in trouble because someone wanted to get at me. I couldn't allow it."

Blaise glared at Harry. "You couldn't allow it? You're sounding more and more like your father. Arrogant. Someone wanted you here most likely to kill you."

Harry shrugged. "I know. Precautions are being taken."

Blaise's retort was silenced by her father making a quick motion with his hand, they had arrived outside the Headmaster's office.

Once inside, the Headmaster began rummaging through the drawers of his desk until he came up triumphant. "Ah, here it is. Well Mr. Potter, it seems that whatever you did was successful. Your name has irrevocably replaced Ms. Zabini's on the contract. I do hope you know what you are doing?"

The last was phrased as a question and Harry answered neutrally, giving nothing away. "Of course Headmaster. Now if you have a moment I would like to discuss the matter of where I will room. I have no issue returning to my bed in the Slytherin dorms but for the fact that I will require an area where I can conduct the business of my Family while I am here. With my father still indisposed I need to be able to handle business matters as they arise. Perhaps the room reserved for the Slytherin Head Boy? I know it's unoccupied this year."

Dumbledore pretended to think. "I cannot fairly allow you to have a room to yourself, the other students could take issue with such favoritism, but I can offer you desk space here in my own office for your use."

Harry arched an eyebrow, but it was Severus who spoke up. "Perhaps I may offer another solution? My office would be closer and more convenient for Mr. Potter's use, and as I am his Head of House the other students cannot say it is favoritism on your part, Headmaster."

"That's settled then." Trevor helped Severus to finish railroading Dumbledore. "If you can show us the way Severus, Vasile and Nara will help set up Harry's desk while I spend some time with my daughter."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as if acknowledging just how quickly he had been manipulated.

"Well, I see that everything is well in hand. If you'll excuse Minerva and myself, I feel I should make an announcement to the Great Hall before rumor becomes truth and the truth a rumor."

Harry and Trevor exchanged glances, wondering if they should trust whatever spin the Headmaster might put on the situation. Harry gave a slight shrug to tell Trevor to let it slide. If need be Harry would start his own 'rumor' with the help of the Slytherin House. In the two months she had been at Hogwarts, Blaise had made progress in her campaign to promote Harry as the ultimate Slytherin to the point where a few of his classmates had started to owl him to ask questions of him. It was going to be interesting to see what sort of reception he received when he showed up in the dorms that night.

"Come along Mr. Potter, Trevor. While I'm sure you both know the way I'll need to let you through the wards."

Harry and Blaise smirked—they had been given access to the office at the end of their first year when they had made it a game to play with Severus' wards after he had kicked them out of his office. Severus had deemed it safer to allow them access so that they didn't completely trash his wards, or worse—cause them to explode and possibly bring down a portion of the castle's foundation. Apparently Severus had just thought about the same thing because the faintest sign of a smile quirked at his lips as he looked at Harry and Blaise before it vanished as if it had never happened.

"What kind of wards do you have up, Professor?" Harry asked innocently as they walked through the halls of Hogwarts, receiving one of Severus's patented glares in return.

"Keep up Mr. Potter." Severus snapped back in mock irritation to keep up appearances. "Or I'll allow you to discover for yourself."

Harry chuckled and moved so that he was walking next to Severus once they were far enough away from the Headmaster's office, Trevor and Blaise behind them with Vasile and Nara brining up the rear. "Oh, snarky."

"Keep it up Mr. Potter and I'll be assigning you a welcome back detention tonight." Severus threatened, but open amusement now colored his voice.

The light banter kept up the whole way to Severus's office where the group efficiently helped Severus create room for Harry's desk and set it up according to specification. The next part was what Vasile and Nara had really come along for—warding the desk so that the Headmaster couldn't gain access to any of the documents Harry would be keeping there. Harry, Trevor, Severus, Vasile and Nara stood in an evenly spaced circle around the desk and cast a series of increasingly stronger wards and tied them all together with a few drops of their blood. No one would be getting through those spells without permission.

When they were done Harry thanked them all and turned to Trevor. "Go ahead and spend some time with Blaise, I'll walk Vasile and Nara out so they can head back to the Manor and report back."

Trevor nodded his thanks and Severus decided to walk out with the trio to make himself scarce. Little was said verbally as the group slipped through the halls of Hogwarts, the four preferring to use hand gestures and practice their stalking skills. It was a good thing they did because they discovered an unusual pair waiting for them in the Entrance Hall; Headmaster Karkaroff and Headmisstress Maxime.

A flurry of hand gestures ensued and then Harry nodded his consent, allowing Vasile and Nara to step forward and greet their old Professors.

"Madame Maxime." Nara greeted the large woman. "It has been a while."

Vasile kept a wary eye on the Durmstrang Professor. "Headmaster Karkaroff."

"Bonjour Nara!" Madame Maxime was all smiles. "Indeed it has been a long time. Just imagine my surprise when I saw you here tonight with that young boy. I was hoping we would have a chance to speak, to catch up. You were always such a favored student of mine."

Nara snorted. "You can cut the games. Vasile and I know what both of you want and you're not going to get it."

"Pardon." Karkaroff feigned ignorance. "We merely wanted to check up on you both. You were our students at one time."

Vasile gave Karkaroff an inscrutable look. "And I doubt you have changed since I went to Durmstrang. Which means you have an agenda."

"You want information on me." Harry walked forward, Vasile and Nara parting to allow him between them in order to take up guard position again. "But you won't get it from them. Vasile and Nara are loyal to me and any school or personal loyalties you attempt to draw on will not be strong enough to break that."

Harry kept walking towards the front doors to see his guards out, throwing a parting shot over his shoulder before passing through the doors. "Perhaps you should just try asking me. I might answer."

The two Headmasters were gone by the time Harry walked back into the Entrance Hall, but Severus was waiting there for him.

"You've surprised them." Severus told Harry. "I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing. They walked out of here with their heads bent together, talking under a secrecy charm."

Harry shrugged. "It is what it is. Karkaroff could be the one trying to draw me out, but if he's not it won't hurt to have them watching me—they may see something to do with the perpetrator of this whole scheme. I want to draw that person out and quickly so that I can give them a piece of my mind."

* * *

Posted On: September 8, 2010


	7. Connections

This is my pre-finals week gift to you. Here's to hoping that I survive next week and the three finals I get to take. Words of Wisdom for the week: Don't go clubbing until 2am if you have to work at 8am…or at least go easy on the Vodka.

_ShadeDancer_

Disclaimer: _I don't own Harry Potter or any such related things so sit back, enjoy the story, and don't sue me. _

_Chapter 7:_ Connections

"I'm pissed at you right now." Blaise glared up at Harry from where she sat in a chair in the common room; Trevor had left only minutes before.

"I know." Harry held himself loosely, non-threatening. "But I need you to get over it. I need you to be at my side, need you to support me. You're my best friend and I can't afford the distractions a rift between us would cause so get over it."

"Get over it?" Blaise's voice was low and threatening but quickly rose in anger, making Harry glad he had thrown up a silencing ward. "Get over it? You just endangered yourself, endangered the clan and you want me to GET OVER IT?"

Blaise came up swinging and Harry let the blow land fully on his jaw; he was going to have one hell of a bruise but Blaise hadn't broken anything and it was worth the pain if he could heal the breach between Blaise and himself. The next blow Blaise faltered on, startled that her first one had actually connected, but Harry didn't allow her to stop and counterattacked to force her guard up. Soon they were crashing all around the common room, tumbling around over the furniture and slamming each other into the walls. Eventually they started slowing down until they both fell exhausted onto the rumpled couch, leaning against each other as they tried to catch their breaths.

"You're still a bloody idiot." Blaise finally spoke.

"Probably." Harry agreed. "But I'm the boss so I can get away with it."

What followed next was Blaise half-laughing, half-crying as Harry rubbed her back and let her expend all her worries, fears, and relief. Finally Blaise calmed down and Harry looked around the common room ruefully.

"We have a lot of cleaning up to do."

Pillows from the couches and chairs were strewn all over the place; a few had somehow burst open to send feathers and stuffing all over the place. Chairs were overturned, at least one coffee table was splintered, and they had somehow managed to rip a tapestry or so down. How they had managed to keep things from ending up in the fire, Harry would never know. He had missed fighting with Blaise, missed her presence at his side to bring him down to Earth because she had no qualms about smacking him and calling him an idiot.

Harry gave Blaise a slight nudge and she reluctantly sat up. Together they purposefully started flicking their wands, mending the damage they had done. Thank Merlin for the clumsy witch or wizard who had invented the 'reparo' spell. At last the common room looked decent again.

"Good thing Severus didn't walk in." Blaise commented as she grabbed the last stray pillow and put it back on its chair. "He would have gone ballistic."

Harry snorted. "That would have been fun to see."

Blaise smiled and hugged Harry before heading to her dorm. "Good night Harry. I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night." Harry replied back, calling out again before Blaise disappeared down the girl's corridor. "Hey Blaise?"

She paused. "Yeah?"

"We good?"

"Yeah, we're good. I'm glad you're here Harry. I really am. I'm just scared as well and it was easier to be angry."

Without waiting for Harry's reply Blaise disappeared to her room. Harry stood there smiling for a minute before turning down the opposite hall to the boy's dorm. He felt bad for being away from the Clan, but at the same time there was a tiny sense of relief that for a while he could pawn everything back off on Trevor while he was at Hogwarts—even if being at Hogwarts meant he was walking into a trap. He now understood why his father had often wanted to run off for a few days.

… … … … …

The next morning Harry and Blaise walked together to the Great Hall amidst a flurry of whispers. Part of it Harry knew to be because of his stunt the night before but another part had to do with his Slytherin honor guard; Blaise had certainly been busy why he was gone and it had shown when Draco Malfoy had actually approached him and offered to shake hands that morning, putting aside any differences they might have had. A third reason soon became apparent when Harry sat down and picked up his copy of the Daily Prophet. Right there on the front page was a write up of not only his taking on the Tri-wizard Tournament contract, but his standing in the muggle world. Someone had finally made public the fact that Harry was the only heir to Manuel Darkov; surprisingly the sparse write-up was fairly accurate about the Darkov standing in the muggle world even down to hinting about the possibility of shady connections. There were no outright mentions of Mafia connections.

Harry snorted and turned to Blaise. "I can't believe it took them four years to put two and two together like this and they're still missing most of the facts. Guess our connections are good on that part."

Blaise looked at Harry. "I thought the point was to keep this out of the papers altogether."

"Not anymore." Harry shrugged. "Not since I'm now the public face of the companies and Darkov name. Better to let it out now than to hide it and have it blow-up in our face later. It's also a good way to build my standing here in the wizarding world and make some more political connections."

"Is there anything else you still need to tell me?" Blaise asked, exasperated.

Harry thought a moment. "I don't think so. There might be, but I'll tell you as soon as I think of anything."

"Harry—"

"Excuse me."

Harry looked behind himself to see a well-known face, at least as publically popular as his own.

"Good morning, Mr. Krum, is there something I can help you with?" Harry put on his professional mask between one blink and the next as he faced his competitor.

"I wanted to introduce myself." Viktor said. "Though you already seem to know who I am."

Harry smirked. "We're both very public faces and it pays to know the competition."

Viktor inclined his head in agreement. "There is that. I also wanted to introduce myself out of manners. My uncle would be cross had I not—he and your father are friends."

Harry pondered a moment, he hadn't really had time to research Viktor Krum's family as he had with the Delacour's, but he couldn't come up with any of his father's acquaintances with the last name Krum. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I cannot place any of my father's friends with the surname Krum."

"Ah, sorry. My uncle is Anton Denovi."

Harry smiled. "Tony! I haven't seen him in ages. How is he? Is he staying out of trouble?"

Viktor smirked. "Do you really want an answer to that one or do you already know it?"

"Pass my regards onto your uncle when you next correspond with him." Harry requested and shifted to make room on the bench next to himself. "Would you care to join us for breakfast?"

Viktor inclined his head in acceptance. "Only in the interest of getting to know the competition better."

Blaise snorted. "Good luck with that."

Viktor turned his smile on Blaise. "If he is anything like my uncle I understand how difficult that will be. I am aware of the secrets made necessary by certain—affiliations. By the way, how is Manuel doing? The news of his condition reached my uncle not long ago and he was concerned."

Harry turned his professional mask onto Viktor. "Tell your uncle that he has no cause for concern, Europe will not fall."

Viktor studied Harry intently, but his mask was not as practiced or as flawless. "I will pass your message on, but perhaps a meeting could be arranged?"

"Are you acting as your uncle's official liaison?"

Viktor hesitated. "I have always had a place in my uncle's organization but with my cousin's loss a few months back I have become a contestant for heir. My public image is the only apparent deterrent to my official selection."

Harry nodded as he finished eating his breakfast, having a public image did make certain tasks a little harder to accomplish. "If your uncle should happen to attend one of the tasks I shall be pleased to speak with him."

Harry rose, Blaise along with him, and Harry noticed with a little surprise that most of his year mates in Slytherin did as well. "Good luck with the first task. I do not think further communication will be necessary at this time."

Viktor watched in more than a little bemusement as he rapidly found himself at an empty table as the Hogwarts students left for class. He had been neatly dismissed, something he wasn't used to experiencing. His uncle had wanted him to get a feel for the Darkov heir while he was at Hogwarts if the opportunity arose, wanted him to find out if the European Empire was indeed still strong with Manuel Darkov being indisposed and his young son running the show. Rumor certainly seemed to support that things were still running strong and Viktor had to admit that there was something impressive about Harry Darkov that had nothing to do with him being the Boy-who-lived. Viktor rose from the empty table and made his way back to the Durmstrang ship. He had a report to write to his uncle and knew that soon enough Headmaster Karkaroff would be summoning him to discover what he had learned from speaking with the 'competition'. Unfortunately he hadn't learned much about Harry that he hadn't already known from his uncle and he was honor bound not to reveal Clan information. Karkaroff would not be happy, the man was determined that they win at all costs—some vindication for a past slight.

… … … … …

As they walked to class, Blaise turned to Harry. "What do you think that was about?"

Harry shrugged. "Part of it was him trying to size me up as competition. I'm a wild card, an unknown. The other part is his uncle sent him here to spy and to test the strength of our Clan. Tony and my father had a history. Russia has always been trying to get a foothold into our territory, but that stopped when dad earned Anton's respect and proved that we were indeed the stronger Clan. That respect does not extend to me and so Anton is using Viktor's presence here to test me and see if he has grounds to stage a coup."

Blaise sighed. "And now I've pulled you into the middle of this. I'm sorry."

Harry stopped and looked Blaise directly in the eye. "This is not your fault. If anything, it is mine for simply being born who I am. If you were not my friend you would not have found yourself in such a position. It is a moot point anyhow. Placing blame solves nothing unless you can kill the person who is at fault—and in this case it is the bastard who put your name in the Goblet of Fire and I will show them my displeasure when we discover who it was."

"Not without me you won't." Blaise stipulated. "I want a piece of them as well. So what are you going to do about Viktor in the meantime?"

Harry shrugged. "Nothing unless he gets in my way. Though he did say something that I wish to explore upon further. It sounds as if the attack that led to his cousin's demise was right about the time dad was put out of commission. I have also heard that one of the American Leaders suffered the loss of a younger son at the same time by taking a bullet meant for the heir. It seems a bit too coincidental to me. I'll write home about it this evening. Right now we'd better get to class, though I will admit that I'm not looking forward to sitting through these boring lectures once again."

* * *

Posted On: December 4, 2010


	8. The First Task

I should be focusing on homework right now, this semester is already promising to be hell, but I decided to finish the chapter for you first. I almost left this chapter on a very nasty cliff hanger, but then the chapter would have been way too short. As it is, it's nearly 1,000 words longer than usual!

_ShadeDancer_

Disclaimer: _I don't own Harry Potter or any such related things so sit back, enjoy the story, and don't sue me. _

_Chapter 8:_ The First Task

Trevor was, to say the least, at the end of his wits and Harry had only been at Hogwarts for just about a week. In that time Trevor had done damage control on an article that the Daily Prophet tried to publish, a completely false expose on Harry that was supposed to be on the Tournament Champions as a whole. Trevor wished Harry would let him take out the slimy reporter who had written the article—he knew how much of a rat Rita Skeeter was—but Harry wanted to hold off to see if she could be a useful snitch in the future.

Then there was the task Harry had set on him to look into the attacks on other Mafia Clans around the world. What he had discovered was enough to make his blood run cold. There was definitely a conspiracy going on out there and very few clues as to who was behind it. Most clans had been lucky, an heir or extra child taken out instead of the Clan's leader with replacements available to step in to fill the void or serious injuries delivered without fatalities. Their Clan had possibly been hit the worse and yet had recovered the easiest. Trevor was sure that if Harry had been home he would have been the main target according to the modus operandi of the attackers, but Harry had not been and so Manuel became the easier mark. As of yet no one had tried to rise up and take over, perhaps because the void left by the attacks had not been as big as hoped.

On a more personal level Trevor was disappointed. Severus had stopped by two days before with a new treatment to try on Manuel. There had been no change. Usually Trevor would have merely taken all of this in stride, calmly compartmentalized things and moved on, but it was fast approaching the time when Harry would be participating in the First Task of what was appearing to be a well-sprung trap and so even the day to day business of the Clan was wearing on him. He was also at a loss on what to do with Kaileigh—the little girl was missing Harry something horribly; at least he had been able to promise her that she would be able to see Harry in about two weeks when they went to Hogwarts to watch the First Task.

Trevor arrived at Manuel's room and nodded at the guards on duty, slipping between them to sit at his friend's bedside. It had become a comforting ritual to sit there and speak even though Manuel could not answer, even though he wasn't sure Manuel could hear him.

"I can't protect him." Trevor had dropped his head in his hands as he sat there. "I was weak. I let him convince me to go along with this because it was the only way we could protect Blaise. I swore to you that I would protect him and I've failed. It didn't help that he spouted Clan Law at me to justify everything, to ease my conscience. I—"

Trevor sighed, he had been repeating these same words or something similar for the past few nights, and looked up.

"Merlin's Bloody Blue Balls!" Trevor bolted upright in shock, toppling the chair he had been sitting in.

Manuel's eyes were open. Open and staring at him with recognition.

"Manuel?"

"Trevor." Or at least that's what Trevor figured Manuel was trying to say considering it came out more as a dry croak of sound, straining from vocal chords fallen into disuse.

"Bloody hell, you're awake." Trevor knelt next to the bed and grabbed Manuel's hand. "We did not think you were ever going to snap out of it. How do you feel? Are you alright?"

Trevor seemed to realize the ridiculousness of his question. "Of course you're not alright. You've been in a coma for God knows how long. I'll get the doctor, just—just stay with us. Merlin, I have to write the kids. No, maybe I had better wait for what the doctor says..."

Trevor stopped at the door, his ramblings halted as he regained some of his senses after the shock he had just received.

"Bloody hell but I'm glad you're awake."

Trevor made it a few steps down the hall before he realized it would be smarter to send one of the two guards on the door for the doctor instead. Almost three hours and a very thorough examination later and the doctor pronounced with no mild bit of shock that Manuel would make a full recovery after a vigorous round of physical therapy and surprisingly there was no sign of brain damage. Trevor felt like kissing Severus for he had no doubt that Manuel's recovery was due to the persistence of the Potions Master. Speaking of which, Severus probably had potions that could help Manuel regain his strength and mobility quickly if they could be modified to be harmless to a muggle.

Merlin, but wouldn't Harry be surprised when Manuel showed up at the First Task. Trevor just wished Manuel hadn't sworn him, the doctor, and the two guards on duty to secrecy until he was back to full strength. It was taking everything in him not to run to the stairs and shout the good news all through the house.

… … … … …

The weeks between him arriving back at Hogwarts and the First Task flew by for Harry and he spent much of his time outside of class either practicing with Severus or handling the random bits of Clan business Trevor sent to him. Now he was standing in a stuffy tent while some puffed up official acted like he was revealing some big secret by telling the that they were going to be facing dragons in the arena. Of course they all already knew. Viktor and Fleur's Headmaster and Headmistress had made sure their students knew what they would be up against and Harry had no qualms about snooping around to discover his own information when it became clear that Dumbledore did not plan on helping Hogwarts' Champions out in any way. It was that which had led him to tell Cedric what the First Task was, not some misguided belief that cheating shouldn't be allowed. Originally he had felt that if the Hufflepuff couldn't discover things out for himself then that was his problem, but Harry also had an unusual sense of honor that occasionally reared its head and wouldn't allow him to let the Hufflepuff be the only one who did not know. It just wasn't as much fun that way. Now if only this windbag would shut up so they could actually get onto the task.

"—from which you will each select a small model of the thing you are about to face! There are different—er—varieties, you see. And I have to tell you something else too…ah, yes…your task is to _collect the golden egg_!"

Harry shrugged. That made things easier. He had doubted he would be required to kill the dragon, but hadn't been particularly thrilled about needing to damage it either. Dragons were magnificent beasts to be respected, not needlessly used and harmed.

Even as Harry made his own response to the annoucement he was observing the reactions of the others. Cedric had nodded once though he seemed to be holding himself unusually stiff and tight and then started pacing. Fleur and Viktor seemed not to react at all though Harry caught Fleur discretely twisting a finger into the end of a lock of her long hair while Viktor settled for clenching and unclenching one fist down by his side. Overhead the sound of feet testified to the stands filling up with curious watchers.

Then the official—Bagman was his name—opened the sack he had been holding onto and offered it to Fleur.

"Ladies first!"

One by one they drew out a small dragon figure and Bagman commented on their picks. Harry's luck ended with him pulling out a Hungrian Horntail with the number four around its neck.

"Well, there you are!" said Bagman. "You have each pulled out the dragon you will face, and the numbers refer to the order in which you are to take on the dragons, do you see? Now, I'm going to have to leave you in a moment, because I'm commentating. Mr. Diggory, you're first, just go out into the enclosure when you hear a whistle, all right? Now…Harry…could I have a quick word? Outside?"

Harry studied the man for a moment; he had noticed the man's attempts to try to pull him aside on the various occasions the man had been around Hogwarts and had laughed at the feeble attempts.

"No." Harry declined the man. "I think I will remain here and prepare for the task ahead. It sounds as if everyone is growing impatient for things to begin and you shouldn't keep them waiting much longer."

"Uh, well…" Bagman looked flustered at having been refused before returning to his cheerfully idiotic mein and leaving the tent. Moments later his voice boomed out, magically amplified, announcing the start of the tournament. Moving to sit down on the carpeted floor of the tent Harry settled in to meditate and listen as the other three made their attempts at the task.

At last it was his turn and Harry entered the arena, taking a deep breath and outwardly projecting a calm he did not quite feel; it would be so much easier to face an idiot with a gun right at that point. Harry advanced on his dragon and her clutch of eggs, levitating rocks and sending them whirling around the dragon's head to see how distractable she was. The rocks worked to a slight degree until Harry got within a few feet of the Horntail and her nostrils flared, taking in his scent. Harry was hard pressed to dodge through the arena until he was at a safe enough distance to rest and if he had been any slower he would have been barbequed. As it was, Harry suffered a minor singing as he made a desperate dive behind a rock that not only protected him but seemed to be at enough distance that he was merely a nuisance instead of a threat. That close call proved to be fortunate.

When Harry had entered the tent before the briefing he and the others had been searched to make sure they were not trying to smuggle in an object that would give them an unfair advantage. Upon Harry's turn there had been some debate about letting him keep his necklaces on but no active spells or enchantments had been found on either item and so he had been allowed to keep them. One was no longer inactive. Whether it was the proximity of the dragon or the flame that had almost toasted Harry, the dragon pendant he had discovered in his vault began to heat against his skin and Harry found himself suddenly assaulted by sound that resolved into words.

"_Stupid human…why can they not let me sit my eggs in peace. Always bothering. Almost made that one crispy."_

There was no denying it, Harry was hearing the dragon just as if he was hearing a snake. He wondered if the dragon could hear or understand him back.

"_Hello? I'm the one you just tried to burn to a crisp. Can you hear me?"_

The dragon reared back a bit slightly, interested suddenly in more than just flaming the ground. "_You speak to me?_ _I thought that last of the draconian-speakers had died out long ago._"

Harry stayed in his relatively safe position but continued to speak with the dragon. "_I'm a parselmouth, but when you almost crisped me a moment ago my pendant started glowing and I could understand you."_

The dragon sniffed but did not comment further and so Harry pressed on.

"_Among your eggs is one that was placed there by the humans. Since it is not one of your babies, can I take it away? The retrieval of the egg is the task they have laid upon me for their amusement."_

The dragon sniffed again. _"I care not. The thing does stink of human men and magic. They have stuck a young one such as yourself in this place to go against me for amusement?"_

"_Yes."_ Harry responded. "_It is my belief that someone wishes to severely injure or kill me."_

"_It has been long since I have amused myself with the affairs of humans."_ The dragon was musing to herself before addressing Harry again. "_I will help you young one. Do you have a plan for fooling these humans who watch?"_

Harry did, a plan that had formed as he had listened to the other three take on their dragons, and he warily shared his thoughts with the mother dragon. She clawed uneasily once or twice at the ground as Harry boldly suggested his idea before she let loose a flame that swept the ground at her feet.

"_I trust you, young one. This pendant of yours would not work if you did not possess a good heart." _She finally spoke. _"I will play along with this charade."_

Harry grinned. "_You make this sound as if we're cheating."_

The dragon turned her head slightly in curiosity, unable to see Harry's grin. _"Does such really bother you? Is working together like this cheating?"_

Harry chuckled. "_No, not at all. I see it as survival and using the resources available to me. I'm naturally a parselmouth so really the pendant is nothing more than a translation spell—and I highly doubt they realize we're even conversing. From what I can hear of the commentary they think I'm just catching my breath and planning a new strategy."_

"_Then let us show them what you have come up with."_

Harry stood and rapidly cast spells over himself and around the arena. The first two were a disillusionment spell and a minor shield spell, the third was a scent confusing charm that would make it harder for the dragon to trace him as he moved across the arena. The scent confusion charm wasn't really necessary since the dragon was on his side; it was more a cover to hide from the watching crowd the deception they were going to pull.

Once sure the charms were sound, Harry began advancing on the dragon. The mother dragon was now looking around in confusion despite knowing exactly where Harry was thanks to his hissed updates of his progress across the ground so that she did not accidentally catch him with a stray flame now that she was acting irritated again thanks to the rocks Harry was randomly levitating about. A few feet away from the nest Harry stopped. He wished he could just walk straight to the nest, but had he really been relying on his spells they would become less effective by getting closer to the dragon. This was where the trust part came in. With a hiss of warning Harry levitated the dragon's eggs away from the nest, leaving the golden one since it was charmed not to be summoned, and slowly moved them across the arena. With a worried roar that wasn't quite feigned the mother dragon followed her eggs, allowing Harry to grab the golden one.

Harry left the arena amidst stunned cheers, but the only sound he was really paying attention to was the farewell of the dragon before she was subdued.

"_Goodbye young one. Good luck. Thank you for taking such care with my eggs._"

… … … … …

Blaise had waited for Harry as he left the arena and accompanied him to the hospital tent that Madam Pomfrey had insisted be set up outside, she grudgingly admitted that he was not too severely hurt and let him leave, and then waited by his side as his scores for the task were presented to him. Now she was trying to help him shoulder through the crowd that had spilled out into the arena so they could make their way back to the castle.

"I'm sure there's going to be a party in the common room tonight after the official celebratory dinner." Blaise was telling Harry. "So you're just going to have to suck it up and take the congratulations."

"And are guests allowed to this dinner as well?"

The voice came from behind them, a well known voice, and the two turned to face Trevor.

"Dad!" Blaise was surprised. "I didn't know you were going to be here. Why didn't you tell me? I would have sat with you. Harry, did you know my dad was coming?"

But Harry was struck speechless, his eyes riveted on a figure surrounded by guards that had emerged from the crowed behind Trevor.

"Dad?"

"Hello son." Manuel smiled; his eyes alight with pride and happiness as he gazed upon Harry.

"Dad!" Harry shouted; he didn't care that he was drawing attention to them as he threw himself into his father's arms.

* * *

Posted On: January 26, 2011


	9. Damage Control

I guess this means that I'm not dead…at least not until one of you tries to kill me for taking so long. This chapter is more of a bridge/filler as I try to pick the story back up and get back into the swing of things. I won't make excuses about life or burden you with any of those tales, I merely apologize for leaving you hanging. There were many moments when I came very close to putting up a note that my stories were abandoned because I did not know when I would have a chance to write again.

_ShadeDancer_

Disclaimer: _I don't own Harry Potter or any such related things so sit back, enjoy the story, and don't sue me. _

_Chapter 9:_ Damage Control

Harry couldn't sleep that night, he kept waking up as his body refused to relax and let go of the high he had been riding all day. Not only had he survived the first task but his father was awake. He could have failed miserably today and still felt as if he had come out on top the moment he had seen his father smiling at him. It was as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders and he finally could acknowledge that as time had passed he had begun to feel fear. Fear his father would not wake, fear that if he did wake that he wouldn't have been himself or would have been damaged somehow. Instead Harry had only found his father, found the Manuel that he knew and loved. He knew it had to be thanks to Severus' potions. Harry would never tell anyone, but he had spent long evenings researching the effects suffered by individuals who had been stuck in long lasting comas and none of it had been promising. In normal cases the longer people were in a coma the more they lost—brain functions, physical abilities, personality…

Harry knew he owed Severus despite what the Potions Master would say, knew he owed the man everything because even as good as Trevor was when it came to potions he had not had the skill or knowledge to help Manuel and there had been no one else they could have safely turned to but Severus. He even knew what he could do to help the Potions Master, but it would take a lot more research and magical control than he currently possessed. His goal was to remove the older man's Dark Mark and free him from not only Voldemort, but Dumbledore's supposedly benevolent clutches as well. He would have to let Trevor and Bill in on his plan and coerce the two men to assist him with his research. He'd have more time now to work on this pet project as well now that his father was awake and could take over some of the clan business again.

Now he really couldn't sleep. He was afraid that if he closed his eyes that he would wake up and discover that it was all a dream. Harry dithered for another moment before getting up. Maybe he could sleep better in the common room. He wished his father and Trevor had been able to stay in the castle overnight, but they had promised to visit soon. Harry was going to hold them to that. Padding over to his favorite couch to curl up on, Harry smiled to see that Blaise was already curled up there sleeping, waiting for him. Carefully lifting Blaise up slightly, Harry curled up under her summoning another blanket to keep them both warm.

"Stubborn." Blaise mumbled sleepily as she snuggled back against him. "Been waiting for you."

"I know." Harry wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry I kept you waiting."

"Sleep now." Blaise replied and Harry smiled.

"Yes ma'am."

And he did.

… … … … …

The next two weeks fell into a somewhat normal pattern for Harry and Blaise as they went to classes and Harry continued to handle the clan business that Trevor and Manuel sent his way. In keeping with their promise, Manuel and Trevor had come the weekend after the first task for a longer visit with Harry and Blaise and that was when Manuel had revealed his plan that Harry was to continue to handle the Clan business along with him. Harry had groaned good-naturedly but his eyes had shown brightly at the trust his father was showing in him. Now, fate was conspiring to throw another wrench into things.

"Yes, you heard me correctly." Severus sneered as he gazed out upon his classroom. "There will be a Yule Ball held on Christmas Day. Fourth years and above will be permitted to attend, but the lower years can only attend if asked by an upper classman. Our _Champions_…" Here Severus paused to smirk good-naturedly at Harry. "…will be expected to open the dance with their partner for the evening. I expect all my Slytherins to be on their best behavior and to not disappoint me by acting improperly. Dismissed."

Harry groaned as he and Blaise made their way to the Great Hall for lunch, already dodging numerous requests to attend the ball.

"Why are they even bothering?" Harry groaned as they slipped into their usual seats. "They should know I won't accept any of them. After lunch we'll have to write to Trevor and have him pick us up a set of dress robes that are complimentary if we'll have to be on display to open this ball. Though maybe this will be a good opportunity to…"

Harry trailed off as Blaise abruptly stood and walked out of the Great Hall. What on Earth was wrong with her?

Shrugging, Harry decided not to follow Blaise and so missed seeing her slip down a side hall and let loose a small scream before punching the wall in an effort to give vent to her feelings.

"You too?" The words held a twist of irony as Hermione said them.

Blaise huffed a sigh. "What is wrong with guys? He just assumes that I'm going to be at his side, doesn't even bother to ask…and I don't know why I'm this upset when that's exactly what I want."

Hermione's lips twisted up in a sad smile. "You want him to actually want to take you instead of just picking you for convenience. At least in your case I saw Harry turning down other girls left and right, he probably did that for you. In my case I was asked as a convenience, because Ron failed to ask Fleur Delacour and is now too discouraged to ask anyone else."

Blaise eyed the other girl appraisingly as an idea blossomed in her mind, Hermione wouldn't look bad once she had a little makeup on and did something with her hair. "If you're set on the Weasley, I can help you make him jealous. We just need to find you the right dress."

"I don't know…" Hermione was hesitant, but Blaise waived her off. "Just leave it to me. If you can find a date it'll be even better, but there's no harm in going single. I have a feeling that's what I'll end up doing."

Hermione looked at the other girl oddly. "Why wouldn't you find someone else to go with? I can't imagine that no one would ask you."

"Trying to make Harry jealous wouldn't work. Now when I'm just a convenient choice." Blaise sighed and began to walk away, muttering under her breath. "And he'd probably kill anyone I took just because he could or if he thought the guy was getting too hands-on. Maybe I am just another clan member to protect, a conveniently available girl who he doesn't have to pretend around."

Little did Blaise know that as she was muttering to herself Harry had gotten worried when she had not come back and had left the Great Hall to look for her, running into Severus on the way.

"Professor Snape, can I speak with you for a moment?"

Severus looked around, ensuring they were alone before beckoning Harry into a nearby classroom that was not currently being used. "What can I do for you Harry?"

Harry sighed. "Blaise is upset over something, I'm guessing it's something I did, but I have no idea what."

Severus repressed a smirk. He had a good idea what this was going to be about and had wondered when something like this would happen. "Why don't you tell me what happened between the two of you leaving the classroom and Blaise getting upset. We'll see if we can figure out what has happened."

Harry recounted the events with clinical efficiency and Severus' smirk finally bloomed across his face. "I feel all warm and tingly getting to tell you this, but you really messed up this time. You are supposed to _ask_ Blaise to the Yule Ball, not just assume she will be willing to go with you even though you know she is."

Harry looked sheepish. "I screwed up royally, didn't I?"

Severus dared pull the younger man into a quick hug; he was really starting to view Harry as one would a nephew. "Yes, you did, but you can still salvage the situation. You're just going to have to be willing to grovel a bit."

Harry nodded. "I'm thinking a little public embarrassment is what it's going to take myself. I really did not handle this one well at all."

Severus raised an eyebrow and then shook his head with a laugh. "Just remember to comport yourself as a Slytherin. Not even for love are we allowed embarrass ourselves like a foolish Gryffindor would."

… … … … …

It was four days later and Blaise was still giving Harry the cold shoulder, making things awkward between the two of them. It was also becoming dangerous for anyone of the male persuasion to approach Blaise as Harry's glares were no a rival to Snapes's and many were suddenly feeling that pissing Snape off was a safer bet. Given all that, anyone who would happen to see Harry at this moment as he nervously stood outside the doors to the Great Hall as he waited for dinner to get further underway would have probably turned and walked the other way. Of course only Severus was there, having held his young snake back a few minutes to help facilitate the drama about to play out; he still couldn't believe what Harry was about to do but it was in keeping with pureblood tradition, Trevor had given his consent, and as head of House Potter Harry had the right to embark on this crazy scheme even at his relatively young age.

"Are you sure?" Severus asked one final time.

Harry sucked in a breath, let it out, and nodded sharply once. "Yes."

Severus shook his head in amusement. "Then let's get this over with and for Salazar's sake remember that you are a Slytherin and remember your composure. I've seen Gryffindors do this and forget all dignity. Embarassing."

Harry smirked at Severus. "Just who do you take me for? You do us both insult by implying that I am anything less than a Slytherin—that's like saying I'm not a Darkov."

Severus smirked back, pleased to see that even if Harry was still nervous that he had hidden it well; it amazed him that even at so young that the young mafia heir could wear such confidence so easily when he had to be nervous inside. Manuel and Trevor had certainly trained Harry well, well enough that even when he had tried Severus could not find a trace of James Potter's attitude in the boy. Oh sure, Harry enjoyed mischief and pranks just like James had, but it wasn't in a petty or malicious sense.

"Then go take care of this little mess of yours so I can actually sit down and enjoy my dinner—or at least enjoy as much of it as I can with all those noisy brats in there."

Harry took another deep breath and pushed open the doors to the Great Hall, his eyes firmly fixed on the Slytherin table and Blaise despite knowing that most every eye in the hall was now on him. Instead of his normal school robes, Harry wore a dark blue robe that hung open to reveal the neatly pressed slacks and starched white dress shirt he wore underneath. The only other ornamentation he wore were the Potter and Darkov crests on his right hand. More than a few of the students knew what Harry's attire meant, and after a moment gave him the required courtesy of acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Blaise on the other hand, watched Harry with wary eyes as he approached her—perhaps comparing this entrance to the last such entrance that Harry had made in such a manner.

"Blaise Eilin Zabini." Harry began formally, bowing to his friend. "With the permission of your father I ask that you consider the suit I put forth to officially court you. You would do me great honor by accepting." Harry dropped his voice so that only Blaise could hear. "I was an ass, Blaise. I took our feelings and your acceptance for granted. Please let me make it up to you. To prove that I care and that I am not just taking your presence in my life for granted."

Blaise nodded, tears shimmering but not falling and Harry pulled a chain from which dangled the Potter crest out of his pocket and spoke a few quiet words over the necklace before fastening it around Blaise's neck.

"Though I wear both the Potter and Darkov crests tonight, I am only presenting you with the Potter crest as a symbol of our courtship because no matter what happens you shall always have the right to wear the Darkov crest unless you should betray that trust. At any time should you wish to end our courtship and cease any sort of romantic relationship with me you merely need to remove the Potter necklace and state your intention to nullify the courtship. The crest cannot be removed by anyone but you or myself and it must be done willingly, should either of us be under duress the magic will not recognize it as a true end and the courtship will still be in place."

Blaise made a motion as if to say something or protest, but Harry stalled her with a touch.

"Now I hope that I have at least partly made up for being such a bloody cad, but I hope to further redeem myself by officially asking you to the Yule Ball. Will you, Blaise Zabini, also do me the honor of accompanying me to the Yule Ball as my date?"

Blaise nodded, swallowing any of the other words she might have said on his actions. "Yes, I will. Now will you sit down and eat your dinner, I think Professor Snape is getting a bit annoyed."

* * *

Posted On: April 14, 2012


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